Written Answers Thursday 16 July 2009

Scottish Executive

Communities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many grants from the Cashback for Communities scheme have been awarded to applicants in (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) Argyll and Bute and what the value of these grants was.

Fergus Ewing: To date, the Scottish Government has committed to invest over £13 million in the CashBack for Communities programme which includes diversionary and participatory projects for young people across Scotland.

  £3 million of this investment was allocated to YouthLink Scotland. Funding distributed through the YouthLink Scotland local youth project grant scheme is recorded by local authority.

  The following organisations in West Dunbartonshire received funding in rounds 1 and 2 after successful applications:

  

 Round 1: 
 


 Community Links Scotland/Streetlinks
£ 8,118


 The Tullochan Trust
£34,430


 Round 2:
 


 1st Glen Lusset Scout Group
£ 2,000


 Knowetop Community Farm Project Ltd 
£15,548


 Clydebank Housing Association
£21,904



  The following organisations in Argyll and Bute received funding in round 1 after successful applications:

  

 Round 1: 
 


 Mid Argyll Youth Project (MAYP) 
£10,000


 SSC – Youth of Scotland Club
£ 2,805


 Cowall Youth Information Project
£ 1,770


 Stramash Partnership – Argyll and Bute Council 
£25,425



  This represents the full allocation to Argyll and Bute and so no awards were made in round 2.

  A further £1 million has been allocated to YouthLink Scotland for a second grant programme which is currently open for applications.

  In addition, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) used £8,800 and £7,500 of their CashBack grants in West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute respectively to deliver Midnight Football and Street Football in 2008-2009.

  Scottish Rugby are investing £19,082 of CashBack funding in a range of diversionary school and club rugby activities in West Dunbartonshire and £6,582 in Argyll and Bute.

  Basketballscotland is working to promote basketball participation across Scotland through the deployment of four regional co-ordinators funded by CashBack.

  The second culture strand of CashBack was announced in March 2009. The Creative Identities project is an 18-month programme of creative learning activities for young people targeting young carers in particular, but will be open to all young people. West Dunbartonshire is included in the West Central Programme Plan, which will be led by Glasgow-based partners Tramway and Glasgow Film Theatre. They have been allocated a total of £343,600 to deliver projects across the region. Argyll and Bute is included in the Highlands and Islands Programme Plan, which will be lead by Eden Court and has been allocated a total of £136,150.

Environment

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies have been carried out on the potential effect on local wildlife of building the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Stewart Stevenson: The environmental impact assessment being undertaken for the proposed scheme includes consideration of ecology and nature conservation. Ecological surveys have been carried out over an extensive corridor covering a wide array of species and habitats.

  Information regarding environmental surveys was published in a leaflet on the project website www.forthreplacementcrossing.info in March 2008. The results of these surveys have been used to inform the environmental impact assessment. The ecological assessment will be reported in the Environmental Statement to be published later in 2009.

  Reports to inform an Appropriate Assessment of impacts to the Forth Islands Special Protection Area (SPA) (including Leith Docks SPA), Firth of Forth SPA and River Teith Special Area of Conservation (SAC) are also being prepared.

European Convention on Human Rights

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the summary warrant in Scotland is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Fergus Ewing: The European Commission on Human Rights has ruled that summary warrant procedure in Scotland, used for the recovery of local and other taxes, is compatible with Article 6 of the Convention. Assessments for tax are not civil rights protected by the Convention and summary warrants, and assessment for tax, can be challenged in court by various means. The Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Act 2007 has increased safeguards by requiring debtors to be served with a formal charge for payment, to ensure more reliable notice of the grant of a summary warrant, before it can be enforced.

  In Scotland tax surcharges are levied on summary warrants for council tax, but the surcharge is a fixed charge designed to compensate for the lack of interest on arrears—and Scottish procedure remains compatible with the Convention.

Ferry Services

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals have been put to the European Commission regarding the future of ferry services between Gourock and Dunoon and whether any such proposals involve a vehicle and passenger service.

Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23794 on 26 May 2009. The European Commission has agreed that it would not be appropriate for information relating to its investigations to be published whilst investigations are live. The decision not to provide the information requested reflects that practice as well as EC Regulation No 1049/2001 and the freedom of information legislation.

  However, the Scottish Government remains committed to delivering a town centre to town centre passenger and vehicle service on this route. The Scottish Government is working hard to identify a solution for the route, and is keen to see the complex issues resolved at the earliest possible opportunity.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have been held with (a) MSPs and (b) local people concerning the Forth Replacement Crossing, showing the dates, locations and who was invited.

Stewart Stevenson: The ongoing Forth Replacement Crossing Communications Strategy has involved significant and sustained engagement with affected communities, more widely affected or interested stakeholders, and the appropriate elected members.

  Community engagement takes place through exhibitions, briefing sessions, group meetings, 1-2-1 meetings, newsletters, the project website and correspondence.

  The following table provides details of meetings held with MSPs and local people showing dates, locations and the groups invited since December 2007:

  

 Date
 Location
 Event


 16-17 April 2008
 Venues in North and South Queensferry
 Stakeholder briefings: North Queensferry Community Councils, South Queensferry Community Councils, Elected Representatives, Councillors, Community Groups, Business & Economic Bodies


 27 May 2008
 Radisson, Royal Mile, Edinburgh
 Briefing for elected members


 3 June 2008
 South Queensferry
 Linn Mill Residents Association


 5 June 2008
 Scottish Parliament
 1-2-1 with Mary Mulligan MSP


 9 July 2008
 Aberdour
 Aberdour Community Council


 1 September 2008
 South Queensferry
 Queensferry District Community Council


 11 September 2008
 North Queensferry
 North Queensferry Community Council


 4 November 2008
 Rosyth Community Centre
 Rosyth Community Council


 8-9 January 2009
 Radisson, Royal Mile, Edinburgh
 Stakeholder briefings: elected representatives, statutory bodies, community councils and non-statutory groups


 19-30 January 2009
 North Queensferry, South Queensferry, Dunfermline, Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Gyle, Inverkeithing, Kirkcaldy, Kirkliston, Linlithgow, Livingston, Rosyth, Winchburgh
 Public Information Exhibitions: 


 22 January 2009
 North Queensferry
 North Queensferry Community Council


 9 March 2009
 South Queensferry
 South Queensferry Community Council and Queensferry Business Association


 24 March 2009
 Scottish Parliament
 1-2-1 with Helen Eadie MSP


 1 April 2009
 North Queensferry 
 North Queensferry Community Council


 23 April 2009
 South Queensferry
 Dundas Home Farm Residents Meeting


 5 May 2009
 Scottish Parliament
 1-2-1 with Margaret Smith MSP


 7 May 2009
 Scottish Parliament
 1-2-1 with Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP


 1 and 3 June 2009
 South Queensferry
 Briefing for South Queensferry Residents: 


 2 June 2009
 Radisson, Royal Mile, Edinburgh
 Briefing for elected representatives


 8 June 2009
 Scottish Parliament
 1-2-1 with Jim Tolson MSP


 9 June 2009
 North Queensferry
 North Queensferry, Rosyth, Inverkeithing Community Councils


 11 June 2009
 South Queensferry
 Queensferry and District Community Council and Queensferry Business Association


 16 June 2009
 Scottish Parliament
 1-2-1 with Margaret Smith MSP


 18 June 2009
 Cramond
 Briefing to Almond Neighbourhood Partnership


 1 July 2009
 South Queensferry
 Linn Mill Community Council


 1 July 2009
 Newton
 Newton Community Council


 8 July 2009
 Kirkliston Community Centre
 Kirkliston residents


 9 July 2009
 Dundas Home Farm
 Dundas Home Farm residents

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what traffic studies have been undertaken in connection with the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Stewart Stevenson: Traffic studies for the Forth Replacement Crossing project have been undertaken using the Transport Model for Scotland (TMfS), with micro-simulation modelling to assess local traffic movement. The modelled base year is 2005 and the traffic model assignments were calibrated and validated using local traffic survey data which post dates the opening of the M9 spur and the removal of tolls on the Forth Road Bridge. This model was used for the DMRB Stage 2 Transport and Economic assessment work which has now been published on the project website at www.forthreplacementcrossing.info .

  A comparison of predicted traffic flows has been undertaken for the year after opening (2017). This compares the situation with and without the bridge. Verification and audit of this work is continuing.

Forth Crossing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies have been carried out on the potential impact of the Forth Replacement Crossing on existing routes for cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians.

Stewart Stevenson: The environmental impact assessment being undertaken for the proposed scheme includes consideration of the potential effects on pedestrians, cyclists, equestrians and community facilities. The assessment includes the identification of local paths, core paths, rights of way, cycleways, National Cycle Routes, equestrian routes and key community and outdoor facilities within the study area. This information has been gathered through desk-based assessment, site visits and consultation with statutory and non-statutory organisations.

  The potential impacts on journey lengths, amenity value, community severance and outdoor access arising from the proposed scheme will be reported in Chapter 17 (Pedestrians, Cyclists, Equestrians and Community Effects) of the Environmental Statement to be published later in 2009.

Fuel Poverty

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22058 by Alex Neil on 30 March 2009, what progress has been made in respect of the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum’s recommendation that interest-free loans be made available to applicants who do not qualify for the Scottish Government’s central heating programme.

Alex Neil: An announcement on the government’s domestic energy efficiency loans scheme will be made in October this year

Fuel Poverty

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum will next meet.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum last met on 7 July 2009 and will hold its next meeting on 27 October 2009.

Fuel Poverty

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it next plans to review membership of the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum reviewed its membership at its meeting on 19 January 2009. A note of that meeting is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/access/FP/FPFMOMJan

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how the evaluation of eHealth projects through to implementation is carried out.

Nicola Sturgeon: The eHealth Programme Board requires that the business case for any project funded by Scottish Government eHealth Directorate includes details of how the project will be evaluated. Project evaluation should address: measurable quality improvements; benefits realisation, and, where appropriate, efficiency savings. Projects must report regularly to the eHealth Programme Management Office, including details of progress against planned milestones, risks and issues.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to integrate existing IT and eHealth infrastructures and systems in relation to the communication and updating of patient records.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has set up an Architecture and Design Division within the eHealth programme to promote the progressive integration of NHS Scotland systems. Procurement such as those for General Practice and Patient Management systems include the requirement to interface with existing systems to facilitate the appropriate transmission of information.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it determines which eHealth projects should be evaluated.

Nicola Sturgeon: The eHealth Programme Board provides governance over projects funded by the Scottish Government eHealth Directorate. For a project to be approved by the board, a business case must be submitted. Every business case must include details of how that project will be evaluated.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measure it has planned in the event of requiring to undertake an influenza A (H1N1) virus vaccination programme from September 2009.

Nicola Sturgeon: Along with the other UK countries the Scottish Government has made a commitment to purchase enough Influenza A (H1N1) vaccine to protect 100% of the population. In common with the introduction of other new vaccine programmes a governance structure has been established to plan for the introduction and delivery of the Influenza A (H1N1) vaccine. This structure involves representatives from across the NHS and from partner delivery agencies, and work is currently underway to consider delivery models for the programme based on the most up to date information on expected vaccine delivery schedules.

Housing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it expects local authorities to deliver home safety awareness and other home safety initiatives.

Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government takes the issue of home safety very seriously and is committed to promoting personal and community safety as expressed by the National Performance Framework through outcome 9: We live our lives free from crime, disorder and danger. Following the Concordat with local government, funding is no longer ring fenced for specific initiatives. This allows local authorities to identify local needs and priorities and direct resources appropriately. It is therefore the responsibility of local authorities and Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) to set safety priorities (including home safety) and to measure the impact of these activities.

  At a national level, the National Community Safety Strategic Group (NCSSG), chaired by the Minister for Community Safety, brings together a range of partners to provide direction and address strategic challenges in all areas of community safety. Members of the group include the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), COSLA, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE), the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and Chief Fire Officers Association in Scotland (CFOAS). Within this forum RoSPA plays a key role in providing strategic direction and challenge on issues of home safety.

  The Scottish Government will continue to support and encourage local government in their endeavours as well as continuing to work closely with RoSPA and other agencies to reduce the number of accidents in Scotland. The Scottish Government also provides funding (£101,970 for 2009-10) to RoSPA to support a national home safety co-ordinator and home safety activities.

  At a local level there are a wide range of activities which take place to improve home safety across the population. Some examples follow.

  Fife

  The Fife Cares Child Safety Scheme has the aim of reducing the number of accidents in the home involving children. As part of the scheme families are offered a free child safety home risk assessment.

  Renfrewshire

  The West Johnstone Home Safety Project which provides new and expectant parents with the ‘Buy Wise be Safe’ DVD which advises parents on a range of child safety issues to reduce unintentional injury rates in Renfrewshire.

  South Lanarkshire

  The Home Safety Cadet Scheme is an outreach programme which delivers a learning session specifically designed for P3 pupils. Through the programme, the profile of home safety is raised not only to pupils, but also to their families.

  Edinburgh

  The Risk Factory bases it activities on the principle that learning by experiencing situations is more memorable than just being told how to act. The Risk Factory allows pupils to discover how they react to a number of different scenarios including those that focus on home safety.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what prosecutions there have been in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09 for (i) litter depositing, (ii) dog fouling and (iii) nuisance and what percentage has been successful.

Kenny MacAskill: The information for 2006-07 and 2007-08 (the most recent years available) is shown in the following table:

  Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Dog Fouling, Litter Offences and Nuisance, 2006-07 and 2007-08

  

 Offence1
 Proceeded Against
 Charge Proved
 (Per cent) Successfully Prosecuted


 2006-07
 
 
 


 Vandalism, malicious damage and malicious mischief 
 5,275
 4,651
 88


 Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 S452
 10
 10
 100


 Litter Offences 
 57
 56
 98


 Dog fouling 
 11
 9
 82


 2007-08
 
 
 


 Vandalism, malicious damage and malicious mischief 
 5,230
 4,561
 87


 Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 S452
 21
 21
 100


 Litter Offences 
 93
 89
 96


 Dog fouling 
 8
 8
 100



  Source: Scottish Government Court Proceedings database.

  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. S45 covers the offence of noise exceeding permitted level after service of notice.

  Prosecution in court is only one of a range of possible options for dealing with an individual who has been charged with an offence of this type. Other actions include the use of fiscal warnings, fixed penalty notices and fiscal fines.

Local Government

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities employ dedicated (a) road safety, (b) home safety and (c) play safety officers.

Fergus Ewing: Information on dedicated home safety and play safety officers are not held centrally.

  In regard to Road Safety officers, the following local authorities employ dedicated staff:

  East Ayrshire

  North Ayrshire

  South Ayrshire

  Argyll and Bute

  West Dunbartonshire

  East Dunbartonshire

  Glasgow City

  Highland

  Inverclyde

  North Lanarkshire

  South Lanarkshire

  Renfrewshire

  East Renfrewshire

  Orkney Islands

  Shetland Islands

  Western Isles.

  It should be noted however, that in some areas in Scotland the Road Safety Units are administered by the local authority while, in other areas, the Unit sits within the police force. In addition to the list of local authorities who employ Road Safety Officers directly the other 16 local authority areas would be covered by Grampian, Tayside, Fife, Lothian and Borders and Central Scotland Police Forces.

Planning

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what factors it took into account in deciding to reduce its proposed statutory guidance on sustainable development from 52 paragraphs in Statutory Guidance on Planning and Sustainable Development: Consultation Paper published in March 2007 to the two paragraphs in Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) Consultative Draft published in April 2009.

Stewart Stevenson: The decision to incorporate statutory guidance under Section 3E of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 into the draft consolidated Scottish Planning Policy  reflects the Scottish Government’s commitment to proportionate and practical national planning policies and to scaling back the amount of national planning advice. Through the consolidated Scottish Planning Policy,  national planning policy is being expressed in more concise terms to make it clearer, easier to understand and more accessible.

Planning

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that planning authorities comply with their sustainable development duty as required by the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006.

Stewart Stevenson: The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 places a new duty on planning authorities to exercise their development planning functions with the objective of contributing to sustainable development. In the first instance, it is for planning authorities to consider how best to achieve this, in preparing each strategic development plan and local development plan and carrying out the related Strategic Environmental Assessment, as required by the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005.

  Where there are outstanding objections to a plan, the 2006 act requires that an examination must be held. A reporter from the Scottish Government’s Directorate of Planning and Environmental Appeals will hold the examination. If issues are raised around the way the content of the plan demonstrates compliance with the new duty, then they may be considered at the examination.

  As well as having a specific role in the final approval of Strategic Development Plans, Scottish Ministers are involved at each stage of the Strategic and Local Development Plan process and may intervene where there are concerns that statutory requirements are not being met. However, through close working between Scottish Government officials and planning authorities, as well as the early engagement of key agencies, it is hoped that late intervention can be avoided.

Planning

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that planning authorities are provided with guidance on implementing the sustainable development duty placed on them by the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006.

Stewart Stevenson: Guidance on planning and sustainable development will be provided through the consolidated Scottish Planning Policy when it is finalised, and through the  National Planning Framework for Scotland .

Procurement

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will advertise contracts with a value of less than £50,000 on the Public Contracts Scotland website.

John Swinney: The Public Contracts Scotland advertising portal advertises contracts of all values, both above and below £50,000. It is the responsibility of purchasing staff to decide what level of advertising is appropriate for individual contracts. Further information is available from the following link http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/search_mainpage.aspx

Rail Network

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-24186 by Stewart Stevenson on 4 June 2009, whether Larbert residents of properties affected by passing coal trains are eligible for compensation under Part 1 of the Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1973.

Stewart Stevenson: Part 1 of the Land Compensation Act (Scotland) 1973 refers to compensation caused by the use of public works. The public works in this case is the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine railway, which does not extend to Larbert. The railway at Larbert was operational prior to the opening of the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine route. The Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1973 also specifically excludes intensification of use as a result of the new railways works, such as the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine Railway, as a ground for compensation under Section 9(7).

Rail Services

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to improve rail services in the Clydesdale parliamentary constituency.

Stewart Stevenson: The programme of proposed improvements to the Edinburgh-Glasgow rail corridor includes plans to provide two new services between Edinburgh and Glasgow Central serving both the Shotts and Carstairs routes.

  A new semi-fast service between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley (via Shotts) will be introduced from December 2009, and will significantly reduce journey times from the current 92 minutes to 65 minutes between the principal stations on the route.

  The introduction of an additional two-hourly service between Edinburgh and Glasgow through Carstairs is expected to be completed in 2014. The optimum calling pattern for this service has not yet been defined.

Residential Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to use additional residential care beds to meet the demand for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery within prescribed timescales.

Fergus Ewing: It is the responsibility of local partners to ensure that appropriate services are in place to enable people with drug and alcohol problems to recover. It is then for clinicians and practitioners to work with individual service users to identify the most relevant form of treatment that is right for them, based on their needs.

  We are currently working with health boards and other partners to develop waiting times targets for alcohol and drug services. As part of this we will be discussing the extent to which current and possible future capacity of a range of services, including residential rehabilitation, is proportionate to the range of possible targets, and any resource implications.

Road Safety

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it is delivering to promote and advance child road safety.

Stewart Stevenson: Through Road Safety Scotland the Scottish Government is delivering a cohesive and co-ordinated suite of educational resources for children in Scottish schools, as well as road safety publicity campaigns and materials.

  Road Safety Scotland is implementing an overarching strategy for road safety education,  www.road-safety.org.uk/education/national_strategy/index.asp, that sits within the Scottish Government framework for education – Curriculum for Excellence. The strategy covers all stages of a child’s road safety education within both formal education and wider community settings, from pre-school through to secondary, and includes young people with additional support needs. It aims to ensure that a core of road safety is taught to all children, with overarching links to other areas within the curriculum.

  Road Safety Scotland has also developed a range of resources that are available, free of charge, for use in all schools from early years through to secondary and college, school clubs, youth and community groups, outreach education, and faculties of education. They are also available to adult literacy classes in Scotland. The resources enable children and young people to understand the nature of risk, employ safety strategies and perceive the road environment as a shared space. There are also a number of websites designed by Road Safety Scotland to support and enhance education resources and initiatives for children.

Road Safety

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it makes available for the promotion and advancement of child road safety.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government provides funding to Road Safety Scotland for the production of a range of key education resources and publicity messages for all road users, including parents and children. The funding to Road Safety Scotland in 2009-10 is £1.870 million. In addition, the Scottish Government provides funding of £345,000 annually to Road Safety Scotland to administer the Children’s Traffic Club in Scotland.

Roads

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19360 by Stewart Stevenson on 19 January 2009, how many of the 9,379 written objections to the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) project were (a) passed to and (b) considered by the reporter for the AWPR public local inquiry.

Stewart Stevenson: All objections received by Transport Scotland were passed to the Reporters for their consideration.

Roads

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to upgrade the A702.

Stewart Stevenson: There are two improvement schemes (Candymill Bend/Edmonston Brae and Hartside Corner) within the current programme, which is available on the Transport Scotland website at www.transportscotland.gov.uk

  The Strategic Transport Projects Review has recommended a series of route management initiatives on the A702 to maintain and safely operate the route.

Schools

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the statement to the Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 17 June 2009 ( Official Report  c. 18438), when the later phases of the school building programme will take place.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the statement to the Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 17 June 2009 ( Official Report c. 18438), how many phases it expects the school building programme to have.

Keith Brown: As already stated in Parliament on 17 June 2009 by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, the first phase will comprise a tranche of secondary and a tranche of primary schools. Details of the later phases and announcements have still to be finalised.

Schools

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the statement to the Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 17 June 2009 ( Official Report c. 18438), how long the first phase of the school building programme will last.

Keith Brown: This will depend on the procurement and construction of the schools in this phase of the programme.

Schools

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the statement to the Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 17 June 2009 ( Official Report c. 18438), how much will be spent on the first phase of the school building programme.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £1.25 billion school building programme will be involved in the first tranche.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many future tranches of funding there will be under the school building programme; when these will be announced, and how much funding will be available in each.

Keith Brown: This will depend on the number and costs of the schools in this phase of the programme.

Schools

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive who will decide which local authorities will be involved in the first tranche of the school building programme.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the local authorities that have confirmed that they will contribute to the £1.25 billion school building programme and how much each has agreed to contribute.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with (a) local authorities and (b) COSLA regarding how the £1.25 billion for the school building programme will be allocated; when these discussions were held, and when agreement was reached.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with (a) local authorities and (b) COSLA regarding the specific projects for which the £1.25 billion for the school building programme will be used; when these discussions were held, and when agreement was reached.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all local authorities will receive a share of the funding from the £1.25 billion school building programme.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will start allocating funding from the £1.25 billion school building programme.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects that the £1.25 billion of funding for the school building programme will have been allocated in full.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will inform local authorities how the £1.25 billion for the school building programme will be spent.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with (a) local authorities and (b) COSLA regarding how the school building programme will be implemented.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools will receive funding from the first tranche of the £1.25 billion school building programme.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities will receive funding from the first tranche of the £1.25 billion school building programme and how much each will receive.

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether funds will be allocated for a new school for east Kirkcaldy under the school building programme.

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether funds will be allocated to support the promised £3 million investment for Burntisland Primary School under the school building programme.

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will be used in assessing need for allocating funds in the first tranche of funding for the school building programme.

Keith Brown: As confirmed by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning in her statement to Parliament on 17 June, we are now in discussion with COSLA and the Scottish Futures Trust to identify those local authorities and schools which will benefit from the first tranche of the programme, the first announcements of which will be made in September.

  Decisions will be taken on the basis of the best data, information and intelligence available about the scale, nature and distribution of needs.

Schools

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reasons it did not announce its capital investment programme for school building until June 2009.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it decided to act on requests by COSLA and local authorities to provide additional funding to support the school building programme.

Keith Brown: In 2007, we first announced a new regime of capital funding for local authorities providing record amounts of capital funding over the local government settlement for 2008-09 to 2010-11.

  In December 2008, we announced that local authorities could accelerate capital expenditure from 2010-11. As a result around £75 million of investment in schools is taking place earlier than it otherwise would.

  In February 2009, we indicated that we would be announcing later in the year the next phase of our school building programme, a commitment which the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning fulfilled in her statement to Parliament on 17 June 2009.

Schools

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the statement to the Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 17 June 2009 ( Official Report c. 18438), whether the first phase of the school building programme will be funded only through direct capital investment.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the statement to the Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 17 June 2009 ( Official Report c. 18438), whether all phases of the school building programme will involve an element of direct capital investment.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the statement to the Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 17 June 2009 (Official Report c. 18438), whether all of the £800 million announced for the school building programme will be used as direct capital investment.

Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-25051 on 15 July 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Schools

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the improvements made to the fabric of schools and nurseries over the last two years, the schools and nurseries concerned and the cost of improvements in each case, broken down by local authority.

Keith Brown: The Scottish Government does not collect detailed information about improvements made to the fabric of individual schools and nurseries.

  Details of the capital expenditure on the school estate for 2006-07, broken down by local authority, is contained within Table 8 of the School Estates Statistics 2008 publication, which is available online at the Scottish Government’s website http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/09/29091400/16.

Schools

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21825 by Keith Brown on 27 March 2009, whether it will list the schools commissioned by ministers since May 2007.

Keith Brown: It is local authorities and not Scottish ministers who commission school projects. The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.

Schools

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its announcement of £800 million of funding for the school building programme, how the remainder of the £1.25 billion will be met.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authority funding for the school building programme will be fully or partially ring-fenced.

Keith Brown: As already stated in Parliament on 17 June 2009 by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, the £450 million balance of funding, which will not be ring-fenced, is to be found by local authorities from within their own resources, including those already provided by the Scottish Government through the local government settlement.

Schools

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its announcement of £800 million of funding for the school building programme, what discussions it has had with (a) local authorities and (b) COSLA regarding how the remainder of the £1.25 billion will be met.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it first had discussions with (a) local authorities and (b) COSLA about the £1.25 billion for the school building programme.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that it has sufficient support from (a) local authorities and (b) COSLA to implement fully the school building programme.

Keith Brown: As already stated in Parliament on 17 June 2009 by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, preliminary discussions were held with COSLA, although not with individual local authorities, prior to the making of the statement.

  COSLA said on the day that the new money was extremely welcome and represented a win-win situation for councils, pupils and teachers.

Schools

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give priority when allocating funding from the £1.25 billion school building programme to local authorities that have school building plans ready to start.

Keith Brown: Decisions about the allocation of funding will be taken in conjunction with COSLA and Scottish Futures Trust on the basis of the best data, information and intelligence available about the scale, nature and distribution of needs. An authority’s readiness to proceed with a project may well also be relevant.

Schools

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that (a) local authorities and (b) COSLA have received sufficient detail on the school building programme.

Keith Brown: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth wrote to the President of COSLA on 25 June 2009 providing confirmation about the details of the programme and indicating that the letter could be shared with councils.

Schools

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines or best-practice models are in place that outline how the school building programme will be taken forward.

Keith Brown: As already stated in Parliament on 17 June 2009 by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, we shall be looking to the Scottish Futures Trust, who will co-ordinate, facilitate and manage the programme, to consider and advise on this.

Schools

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools will be built in each year of the school building programme.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what targets exist for the number of schools to be built in each year of the school building programme.

Keith Brown: This will depend on the phasing of construction of the schools, which will be a matter for discussion with the relevant local authorities and the Scottish Futures Trust.

Schools

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the statement to the Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 17 June 2009 ( Official Report c. 18438), for how long (a) COSLA and (b) local authorities have been requesting additional funding to support the school building programme.

Keith Brown: COSLA and individual local authorities have made frequent representations to successive administrations for such additional funding. The Scottish Government has worked and will continue to work in partnership with local government in delivering the much needed further investment in our school infrastructure.

Schools

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether decisions on the allocation of the £1.25 billion school building programme will be made by ministers or COSLA.

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £800 million funding announced for the school building programme will be available to spend in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13, (e) 2013-14, (f) 2014-15, (g) 2015-16, (h) 2016-17 and (i) 2017-18.

Keith Brown: As already stated in Parliament on 17 June 2009 by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, the programme’s funding will start in 2010-11 and continue until to 2017-18. The precise amount that will be spent in any given year of the programme will depend on the procurement and construction of the schools in question.

Schools

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether projects approved by the previous administration will be given priority in allocating funds to relevant councils for the school building programme.

Keith Brown: As already stated in Parliament on 17 June 2009 by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, the Scottish Government has honoured the payments relating to these projects so that all of the schools in the pipeline went ahead.

Scottish Government Departments

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent by the current administration on consultancy fees since May 2007 and how much was spent by the previous administration between 1999 and 2007, also broken down by year.

John Swinney: We are examining the available information and will write to the member as soon as possible. A copy will also be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 48588).

Scottish Government Publications

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many typographical errors there are in the hard-copy edition of Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 2007-08.

John Swinney: Government officials endeavour to proof check their publications as much as possible. No typographical errors have been brought to the attention of Scottish Government officials. Any correspondence on the report should be directed to

  Sandy Stewart, Senior Statistician

  Office of the Chief Economic Adviser

  Scottish Government

  Room 4.ER, St Andrews House

  EDINBURGH

  EH1 3DG.

Transport

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many park-and-ride schemes that were planned by the previous administration have been approved since 2007.

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will (a) list the local authorities with which it has worked to ensure that every effort is made to fast-track park-and-ride schemes and (b) indicate what progress has been made for each.

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cities provided a park-and-ride strategy showing what it would do to enhance park-and-ride provision for bus or train or both within six months of the 2007 election and whether it will list those that have produced a park-and-ride strategy since 2007.

Stewart Stevenson: Park and Ride schemes are delivered by Local Authorities and Regional Transport Partnerships.

  However, within the first six months of the 2007 election, the Scottish Government signed a Concordat with COSLA, which provided local authorities with record levels of funding over the spending review period 2008-11. This will empower local authorities to deliver improved local transport solutions through increased freedom over how they plan, manage and fund services on the basis of their assessment of local needs and priorities.

  The Scottish Government has brought forward £5 million in capital grant-in-aid to allow Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) to accelerate capital spending on Park & Ride facilities across west central Scotland in 2009-10. This acceleration of funding from 2010-11 to the current year was announced by John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth during passage of the Budget Bill 2009-10.

  In addition, the Scottish Government has enhanced its manifesto commitment by taking Park and Ride into account under the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) and it has also published Park and Ride for Buses: A National Framework on 30 June 2009.

Wildlife

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it regards pacific oysters farmed in Scotland to be a threat to native oysters and, if so, what the (a) nature of and (b) evidence for any such threat is.

Roseanna Cunningham: We are currently awaiting finalisation of an expert risk analysis on the pacific oyster, as part of the implementation of the GB Invasive Non-Native Species Strategy. When the GB risk analysis panel and GB programme board have signed off the analysis, it will be published on the Non-Native Species Secretariat website http://www.nonnativespecies.org/ .

Wildlife

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what duty it is under to classify or list invasive non-native species and what discretion it has in such matters.

Roseanna Cunningham: Section 1 of the Nature Conservation Act 2004 places a duty on all public bodies and office holders to further the conservation of biodiversity and specifically to have regard to the United Nations Environmental Programme Convention on Biological Diversity. The UN Environmental Programme and the EU Biodiversity Action Plan both identify invasive non-native species as one of the most significant threats to biodiversity. The Scottish Government recently published a consultation paper on a proposed Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill that includes a description of the current legislation covering invasive non-native species in Scotland and proposed reforms. This is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/Wildlife-Habitats/WildNatEnvBill/ConDoc.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Calman Commission

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the cost to the Parliament was of the Calman Commission on Scottish Devolution.

Alex Fergusson: The final cost to the SPCB of fulfilling the direction contained in motion S3M-976 to support the Calman Commission on Scottish Devolution are as follows – £111,161.87 on staff time (seconded Clerk Team Leader for 14 months, broadcasting contractors, SPICe support, provision of Official Report and Events ushers); catering and other costs - £3,432.73. These costs were met from existing budgets.

Calman Commission

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has projected the cost to the Parliament of being involved in a steering group arising from the recommendations of the Calman Commission on Scottish Devolution and, if so, how the costs would be incurred.

Alex Fergusson: The SPCB has not yet established any projected costs arising from motion S3M-4490 agreed to by the Parliament on 25 June 2009. As with the support provided to the Calman Commission on Scottish Devolution, regular reports will be made to the SPCB.